RAGE SALARIES BY

OGRAPHIC REGION 22% THE 10 MOST PRESSING

PROBLEMS AT WORK 18% WAYS ENGIN
THEIR BONUS

2O14 ENGINEERING
TYPES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION COSTS COMPANIES ARE
WILLING TO REIMBURSE TO ENGINEERS SATISFACTION WITH YOUR

SALARY
18% CURRENT POSITION

ARE YOU
SUFFICIENTLY
CHALLENGED? 25% WAYS ENGINEERS ARE EARNING
THEIR BONUSES IN 2014

AVERAGE SALARIES
44% THE 10 MOST PR
PROBLEMS AT W

SURVEY
BY TYPE OF DESIGN
YOU DO
HOW
INTELLECTUALLY
CHALLENGED YOU
ARE AT WORK?
18% AVERAGE SALARIES BY TYPE
OF DESIGN WORK YOU DO

OUR COMPENSATION COMPARES

AT OTHER COMPANIES ARE PAYING

16%
LEVEL OF CONCERN
OVER LOSING YOUR JOB 34% AVERAGE SALARIES
BY JOB FUNCTION
TO OUTSOURCING
60%INDUSTRY
AVERAGE SALARIES BY

ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

AVERAGE SALARIES
BY ENGINEERING
TOP 10 PERKS IN
2014 ARE YOU
SUFFICIENTLY
CHALLENGED?
HOW YOUR CO
SATISFACTION WITH COMPARES TO
YOUR CURRENT
POSITION
ARE
PAYING
25%
9%
TITLE
ENGINEERING SPECIALTIES IN
HIGHEST DEMAND
37%
WAYS ENGINEERS ARE EARNING SIGNING BONUSES/
THEIR BONUSES IN 2014 INCENTIVES FOR NEW

9%
AVERAGE SALARIES BY
YEARS OF ENGINEERING
ENGINEERING
HIRES 14%
EXPERIENCE

27% THE 10 MOST PRESSING

PROBLEMS AT WORK AVERAGE SALARIES BY LEVEL
OF EDUCATION
WHO IS INVOLVED IN
SPONSORED BY THE DECISION
TO OUTSOURCE?Copyright © 2014 BY Penton, all rights reserved
HOW INTELLECTUALLY AVERAGE SALARIES B
CHALLENGED YOUR AR SIZE OF COMPANY
AT WORK
 Editorial
Stephen Mraz | Senior Editor

Wanna buy
a bridge?
W
hen a major section of the Bay Bridge in San
Francisco collapsed during the 1989 Loma Preita
earthquake, officials at the California Dept. of
Transportation (Caltrans) leapt into action to
replace the span. Their team of experts estimated it would cost $1 billion
and be finished by 2003, give or take.
The bridge was completed late last year at a cost of $6.4 billion, so far.
By the time all the bills and interest get paid, it will likely tally over $12 bil-
lion. Were there any warning signs that the project would be so late and so
expensive? You tell me:
• Was it wise to assign a lawyer to be project manager? He had no
engineering training and his previous job was Assistant Chief Coun-
sel for California. While he was overseeing bridge construction, he
fired or reassigned several experts in welding, testing, and bridge
construction when they raised concerns about safety and quality. A
least two of these mentioned that the project manager “repeatedly
told them not to record their concerns in writing, either on paper
or e-mail, but rather to communicate orally,” according to a Califor-
nia Senate report that looked into the cost overruns on the bridge.
Firing whistle-blowers is standard operating procedure (one of the
unwritten ones) at Caltrans, where the motto seems to be “Go after the
troublemaker, not the trouble,” according to a California State Senator.
• Was it wise to hire a Chinese crane-building firm that had never built a bridge
to handle the construction? Apparently the Chinese firm was the low bidder,
coming in $250 million below the nearest competitor. What could go wrong?
Soon after production began in China, it was discovered the firm was weld-
ing in wet and rainy conditions, a cardinal sin, according to welding experts.
They continued welding in the rain for years on the project. Wet welds are
prone to hydrogen contamination, one of the major causes of cracked welds.
The company also stored completed bridge sections outside in the rain
where they partially filled with water. A report was filed saying this would
cause corrosion in inaccessible areas of the parts. The prime contractor
dismissed concerns saying any rust “would be insignificant and unmeasur-
able.” Caltrans accepted this without comment for parts that would be sus-
pended for 150 years (hopefully) in a foggy environment close to seawater.
In a telling anecdote, the prime contractor and others kicked in a total of
$500,000 to train Chinese welders in proper techniques. Many, if not all, of
the workers skipped the training, and nothing was done.
I hope the bridge lasts its 150-year design life, but I fear that will have as
much to do with dumb luck as good engineering.
(For more details on this project, check Charles Piller’s coverage in the
Sacramento Bee.)

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

STEPHEN MRAZ | Senior Editor

stephen.mraz@penton.com

SALARY
ENGINEERING
2O14

SURVEY Numbers ENGINEERING BY THE

51
Average age
of the typical
engineer
Salaries and satisfaction
inch up, exceeding

25
Years of
expectations. experience

T
for the average
engineer
he sur veys have been
returned and the data col-

50
lated for this year’s look at Number of hours
engineering salaries and engineers put in to
attitudes. And judging by one key find- the job each week
ing, average salary, engineers are doing
well. Last year they earned an average

68
salary of $89,200. That figure rose a Percentage who say
respectable 5% this year to $93,000, far the career is as
outpacing the 1.3% raise expected by promising today as it
respondents for this year. was 5 years ago
Engineers are also more content
these days, with 82% saying they felt

61
Percentage
fairly compensated for their work. who say their
Last year, only 66% said their pay was paychecks
fair. This favorable view regarding pay grew in 2014
likely affected how engineers looked at
their jobs overall. Job satisfaction, for

78
example rose, going from 90% satisfied Percentage who say
in 2013, with only 18% extremely satis- their company is
fied, to 97% satisfied this year and 50% funding part of
extremely satisfied. their retirement

31
HIGH ON THE PROFESSION Percentage who say
This somewhat rosy year in terms of their company plans
salary seems to have colored engineers’ to increase engineering
opinion on their profession. Last year, jobs this year
a third of the respondents said they had

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

considered leaving the engineering profession; this year that itless opportunities to solve problems and make positive
was down to about a fifth. And an overwhelming 93% say they impacts on industry and society. The world will always need
would recommend engineering as a profession to a young per- engineers, and an engineer-trained mind is a practical tool in
son, a slight rise over last year’s 90%. many aspects of life.”
Comments from engineers who would tell youngsters to go • “If you like technology and problem-solving, it’s a great
into engineering include: profession.”
• “Engineering is an exciting, ever-changing field with lim- • “It offers rock-solid employment security, good pay, and a
highly satisfying career.”
Those who would not
recommend engineering
to young adults have a

89,679
much different view:
Average total • “ I would recommend
compensation getting an engineering
in 2014 in dollars degree because of the
fundamentals it teaches,
but I would not advise

13
Number of years making it a career. There
they’ve worked at are too many levels of bureaucracy to
their present
get through to get things done and too
company
many decisions are made by outside
forces. Instead, I would urge them to get

56
Percentage who a job that offers more direct control of
say they’ve been the decisions being made.”
contacted by a • “Historically, engineers have worked
headhunter this year
long hours under very stressful condi-
tions for pay that is not much more than

97
Percentage who that of a lot of blue-collar workers. And
express satisfaction since salaried personnel don’t receive
in their current additional compensation for working
positions more than 40 hr/week, engineers earn
much less than blue-collar workers on an
Percentage who sa
hourly basis.”

67
Percentage who company outsource
• “The level of respect the profession onceengineering work
feel adequately
compensated for enjoyed from employers and society is
the work they do no longer there. Engineers are viewed as
just extremely high overhead.”

52
Percentage who say THE KEYS TO HIGHER PAY
their company Slicing the survey data in search of the
outsources
attributes and habits of those earning the
engineering work
highest salaries uncovers some expected
and unexpected findings. For example,

67
Percentage who say earnings track well against education lev-
their company is less el. Those working as engineers with only
focused on employee a high-school diploma or less take home
retention this year an average of $70,800. Every educational
addition adds to the paycheck, even if it’s

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 ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

put in 51 to 55 hr weekly at the

SALARY BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION office to take home $103,100. The
West North Central — $85,200 New England — $105,000 workaholics, the ones spending the
Mountain — $95,600 Connecticut, Maine,
Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, most hours in the office each week,
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
North Dakota, South Dakota
Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont 60 or more, make less, $95,400.
Nevada, Utah, Wyoming East North Central — $86,200 Interestingly enough, almost half
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, of those living in the office for 60 or
Ohio, Wisconsin
more hours work for smaller com-
Mid-Atlantic —
$90,800 panies with revenues of less than $5
Pacific — $101,800 Delaware, million. Overall, when it comes to
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maryland, hours, most engineers (68%) put in
Oregon, Washington New Jersey, New York,
36 to 50 hr at their desks and earn
Pennsylvania
an average of $90,400.
Company size appears to be a
South Atlantic —
good indicator of pay, with larger
$89,100 companies paying more, except
Florida, Georgia, for a small blip at the top. Engi-
West South Central — $96,900 North Carolina, neers working at companies with
East South Central —
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas $85,900 South Carolina,
$5 billion to almost $10 billion in
Alabama, Kentucky, Virginia, Washington,
D.C., West Virginia revenues earn the most, an aver-
Mississippi, Tennessee
age of $113,100. The largest firms,
those with revenues over $10 bil-
only attending college but not earning a degree. It tops out lon, pay their engineers a bit less, an average of $111,000.
with Ph.D.s in engineering earning $105,000 annually. Another factor with an anomaly at the top is job title. The
One indicator that doesn’t quite correlate as you might think highest-earning individuals have titles such as technical direc-
it should is “years spent in engineering.” Our survey indicates tor, director of engineering or R&D engineering manager
that those with 30 to 34 years of engineering under their belts ($110,500), department or section head ($105,400), or vice
pull in the most, an average of $100,000. Meanwhile, those president/vice president of engineering ($105,300). Mean-
with the most years of experience, 40 or more, rake in almost while engineers who have managed to make it to the top as
10% less, $91,800. owner, CEO, president, partner, or executive manager make
The number of hours an engineer works every week also has $93,900, a 10% drop. The lowest-paying title in our survey
an odd correlation to earnings. Engineers who earned the most turns out to be software-engineering manager, a position that
pays $60,000 per year. Strangely enough, those with a
software-engineering title earn more, $66,700.
ENGINEERING SALARIES If we combine all these “high-pay” indicators, the
200,000-299,000
150,000 - More than 300,000 result would be an engineer with a Ph.D. who has
Salary range — Respondents 125,000 - 199,000 Less worked as an engineer for 30 years in a company with
>300,000 — 0.2% 149,000 than $5 to $10 billion in revenues, putting in 51 to 55 hr/
200,000 to 249,000 — 0.4% 30,000 -
30,000 39,000 week as director of engineering. Unfortunately, sta-
150,000 to 199,000 — 4%
125,000 to149,000 — 8%
100,000 to 124,000 — 17% 100,000 - 40,000 -
49,000
tistics being what they are, there was no one in our
survey who met all these qualifications.
90,000 to 99,000 — 12%
80,000 to 89,000 — 13%
124,000 50,000 - Bonuses are another source of compensation, and
70,000 to 79,000 — 11% 59,000 nearly 20% of all respondents claim they will earn a
60,000 to 69,000 — 11%
50,000 to 59,000 — 9%
90,000 - 99,000 bonus of $10,000 or more this year. When the data was
40,000 to 49,000 — 4% 60,000 - 69,000 broken down to focus on the engineers who pulled
30,000 to 39,000 — 3% in these five-figure (or more) bonuses, it revealed
>30,000 — 7%
80,000 - 70,000 - that most of them held fairly lofty titles such as own-
99,000 79,000 ers, CEO, president, chief engineer, or director of
engineering. But 10% of these “bonus babies” were
bench-level design and project engineers. Most had

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

SALARY BY
Company size
COMPANY SIZE (REVENUES)
over 25 years as engineers, though the majority (51%) had
less than 14 years with their current company. This makes it >$10 billion — $110,000

likely that they are working at the second or third firm in their
$5 to $9.9 billion — $113,100
career or that they started a company and are doing well. The
survey also shows that these engineers earned their bonuses $1 to $4.9 billion — $102,300
based mainly on company or division performance and their
own personal performance. Engineers who cashed in big on $500 to $999.9 million — $98,600
bonuses also managed to earn an average salary of $121,200.
Meanwhile, 27% of them added another $10,000 or more in $100 to $499.9 million — $92,800

stock options while 23% earned yet an additional $10,000 or

$50 to $99.9 million — $88,600
more from other sources.
$25 to $49.9 million — $85,800
YOUNG AND OLD ENGINEERS:
THE DIFFERENCES $10 to $24.9 million — $85,400
A new feature in this year’s survey was the addition of
<$5 million — $74,800
the following question: “Do you feel today’s engineering
students graduate with enough knowledge and skills?” The 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
replies were practically a statistical dead heat, 50.7% said
Salary ($)
yes and 49.3% said no. But when the replies are tabulated for
just those engineers with less than 10 years of experience, by experienced engineers to be truly effective.”
55% indicated they thought newly hired engineers were
well trained in college. Drilling down even farther, asking Comments from new engineers, those with less than 10 years
only engineers with less than a year of experience working of experience, included:
as engineers, the figure climbed higher with 66% saying • “ The current engineer grads get the basic tools to be engi-
new hires are qualified. Still, that means a
third of new hires in effect say they aren’t
SALARY BY TITLE
up to the task of engineering yet. This is Title
strong evidence that colleges or engineer- Technical director/director of engineering 110,500
ing companies should pick up the pace on Department head/section head 105,400
educating students and new engineers in
Vice president /vice president of engineering 105,300
real-world design and engineering.
When asked why they thought recent Chief engineer/senior engineer/lead engineer 104,700

engineering grads had the knowledge and Group leader/project team leader 101,900
skill to make a living in the profession, Applications/systems-engineering manager 96,400
comments from engineers with over 10
President/owner/CEO/other executive manager 93,900
years of experience included:
Member of technical staff 89,800

• “A n engineering education provides a Systems engineer/applications engineer 86,800

good base, but the nature of engineer- QC/evaluation/test manager 82,800
ing work tends to be highly specialized,
Manufacturing/production manager 81,900
so more knowledge is always needed.
It would be impossible to teach every- Design engineer/project engineer/R&D engineer 80,800

thing.” Consulting engineer/scientist 80,300

Manufacturing/production engineer 75,300

• “U.S. engineering schools are superior
Test engineer 74,100
to any others in the world. The cur-
rent crop of engineering students has Software engineer 66,000

the knowledge and skills to begin in 0 20,000 60,000 100,000

my area of expertise, aerospace engi-
Salary ($)
neering. But they still need mentoring

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

SALARY BY EDUCATION LEVEL

Education
neers. They just need to acquire the experi-
ence it takes to make good engineering deci- Doctoral degree — $105,100

sions.”
• “The technical abilities are there, but the big- Master’s degree — $100,600
ger picture, understanding how businesses
actually work, is lacking.” Bachelor degree plus grad studies — $94,700

More senior engineers who feel engineers right

Bachelor degree — $88,400
out of college are unprepared for the working
world said:
Associate degree — $75,200
• “It’s incredibly variable among grads, but gen-
erally the breadth and depth of understand-
ing engineering basics and principles seems Attended college — $74,400
to be in decline.”
• “ They need more real-world training, espe- High school or less — $70,800
cially on documentation. They need to know
how to determine factors such as tolerance and 0 20,000 60,000 100,000
material requirements. They can’t determine Salary ($)
these things through trial and error. They also
need how to work in teams and understand that all details are know the theory, but are not ready to work.”
important, not just the ones they want to deal with.” When the survey asked for concerns — “issues that keep
you up at night” — the results showed that despite the age gap,
Newer engineers who feel recent engineering grads lack the engineers all worry about the same things. The top answers for
needed skills commented that:
• “Engineering schools focus too much on research activities SALARY BY TYPE OF DESIGN
that bring universities grants and recognition. New engi-
neers do not have the practical skills and problem solving TYPE OF DESIGN SALARY RESPONDENTS
methods companies use day to day to stay in business.” ICs and Semiconductors $127,100 0.4 %
• “ There isn’t enough hands-on work in college. New grads Military $116.400 2.9 %
Medical $106,500 4.5 %
SALARY BY YEARS OF Computer and peripherals $103,400 1.6 %
ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE Software $102,700 1.3 %
Years
Avionic, marine, space $101,900 3.6 %
≥ 40 — $91,800
Power devices $100,800 1.5 %
35 to 39 — $99,900 Communications $96,100 1.3%

30 to 34 — $100,000 R&D $92,900 11.2 %

Safety/security $92,400 1.5 %
25 to 29 — $99,300
Appliances $88,800 1.1 %
20 to 24 — $90,000 Test & measurement $88,700 4%
Industrial controls $89,100 11.1%
15 to 19 — $91,000
Mobile equipment $84,000 3.4 %
10 to 14 — $78,400 Packaging $83,600 1.9%

5 to 9 — $70,000 Consumer $83,100 5.5 %

Components & subassemblies $82,600 5.2 %
1 to 4 — $61,800
Material handling $79,100 5.4 %
<1 — $53,000 Automotive $78,800 5.7 %
Machine tools/automation $78,400 10.1 %
0 40,000 80,000
Dollars ($) Other $93,900 16.6 %

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

SALARY BY JOB FUNCTION HOW MANY HOURS/WEEK

Job DO YOU PUT IN AT THE OFFICE?
Engineering management — $113,100 15 to 20
Hours — Respondents
More Less 21 to 25
26-30
than
Executive/Operating management — $102,900
>60 — 3% 56 - 60 60 than 31 to 35
56 to 60 — 5%
51 to 55 — 7%
15
Design & development engineering— $87,200 45 to 50 — 21% 51 - 55
41 to 45 — 33%

Other engineering — $81,300

35 to 40 — 14%
31 to 35 — 3% 36 - 40
46 - 50
26 to 30 — 2%
21 to 25 — 2%
0 20,000 60,000 100,000
16 to 20 — 2%
Dollars ($) <15 — 8%

engineers who have made it past the 10-year mark are loom-
ing deadlines (32% chose this one), product-reliability issues
41 - 45
(29%), and product-quality issues (26%). Those were the same
result, and nearly the same percentage of respondents for
engineers with less than 10 years’ experience: looming dead- The engineers most concerned about age discrimination are
lines (30%), product-reliability issues (29%), and product- the 35 to 39-year olds, with approximately 20% “losing sleep”
quality issues (29%). over it. Of those you would think most concerned about age
There was one major (and predictable) difference between discrimination — engineers with more than 40 years’ experi-
older and younger engineers. While almost 13% of older engi- ence — only 10% include it on their list of concerns.
neers worried about age discrimina-
tion in the workplace, only 4% of the
younger generation did. Their time WHAT ASPECTS WHY WOULD
will come. OF YOUR JOB YOU LEAVE
Issues
WORRY YOU? ENGINEERING?
Issues
Product reliability/
HOW LONG HAVE quality issues 54%
To try something different 36%
YOU WORKED AS Looming project deadlines 32%
Years
AN ENGINEER? Staying current with
To pursue other interests 34%
26% or opportunities
technologies
Less than 1 2% Handling product price and To start a business 27%
performance issues 22%
1 to 4 6.5% Dealing with staff 26%
reductions 17% To make more money

5 to 9 7% Getting the right

components/vendors 16% To do something less stressful 25%

10 to 14 7% The financial health of

my employer 14% To do something more 24%
fulfilling or interesting
15 to 19 Job security 14%
9.5%
20%
Outsourcing issues To avoid burnout
20 to 24 13%
12%
Age discrimination Have more free time 20%
25 to 29 12%
12%
Component availability 11% To have a better chance 17%
30 to 34 at advancement
16.5% Documenting ROI on
engineering expenses 6% To retire 15%
35 to 39
11.5%
Product interoperability 10%
40 or more To cut back on long hours 14%
16% Suppliers’ financial health 3%
To avoid poor engineering 11%
0 5 10 15 20 outlook
Respondents (%) 0 10 20 30 40 50
Respondents (%) To teach 7%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
MACHINE DESIGN | 7 | GO TO MACHINEDESIGN.COM Respondents (%)
ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE
JAY MCSHERRY | Contributing Editor
jaymcsherry@earthlink.net

THE
GENDER
DIVIDE Women remain underrepresented
in engineering—and the situation
isn’t improving

L
ike past surveys, relatively few female voices were
heard in this year’s Salary & Opinion Survey. Only
about 3% of our 3000 responses came from wom-
en. So, to get a better understanding of some of
the issues facing women in the field, Electronic Design
teamed up with IEEE Women In Engineering—the
professional association’s wing dedicated to promoting
women engineers and scientists—on research that paral-
leled our annual salary survey.
For this project, we solicited responses from nearly
400 women involved in design engineering, engineering
management, and executive management at OEMs. These
women shared their insights on general industry subjects
as well as issues specific to women in engineering.
Engineering, of course, remains a male-dominated
profession. The Congressional Joint Economic Com-
mittee recently reported that only about 14% of the engi-
neers currently working in the U.S. are female. While
that’s a significant improvement from the early 1980s—
when women made up a mere 6% of the engineering
workforce—it still indicates that a serious gender divide
exists in the field.
What’s more, the profession’s gender disparity may
be getting worse, not better. According to the U.S. Cen-
sus Bureau, the percentage of women holding STEM
jobs is on the decline—mainly because their share of
computer occupations dropped to 27% after reaching
a high of 34% in 1990. “We have seen an increase in
women employed in STEM occupations, but they are
still underrepresented in engineering and computer

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

occupations that make up more than ARE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING neering students on graduation day than
80% of STEM employment,” said Liana AFFORDED THE SAME when they first entered college. While
Christin Landivar, a sociologist in the OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAREER some suggested that the rigors of an engi-
Census Bureau’s Industry and Occupa- ADVANCEMENT IN MANAGEMENT neering education were partly to blame
tion Statistics Branch. POSITIONS AS MEN? for the drop-off, others cited the paucity
Women make up 51% of the U.S. pop- of mentors for women among the faculty
ulation and 47% of the workforce, so it’s and staff as a major contributing factor.
clear that some issue or issues are pre- “The lack of mentorship—especially
venting their proportionate representa- from women faculty members—was
tion in one of the working world’s more
lucrative professions.
Yes
No clearly one reason for the dropouts,”
commented one survey participant.
45%
55%
Because the number of women par- “The support of women faculty toward
ticipating in our main Salary Survey women students is non-existent. There
was so small, it probably does not offer are not many women faculty members
a statistically significant insight into the at universities to begin with, and the
compensation disparities between men majority of them are not supportive to
and women. That said, for the sample on students at all. They do not put their
hand, income between the sexes differed weight in at the admission commit-
by about 10% ($106,869 in total compen- tee when it comes to admitting more
sation for men vs. $97,357 for women). women students to the engineering
However, this disparity isn’t based on a direct comparison programs. As a matter of fact,Are most
women in engineering
male and women afforded
faculty
the same opportunities for career
of women and men holding the same positions or in the same members do not care about advancement
gender bias and gender equality
in MANAGEMENT
situations. For example, the sample of women who partici- issues at all.” positions as men?
pated in the Electronic Design survey were, on average, much “Harassment of female students was rampant,” reflected
younger (45 years of age vs. another woman engineer. “It is much improved now. Also, in
53 for the men) and had nine my college years, it was still an accepted practice for women
fewer years of engineering experience than the men we heard to take care of the home and children in addition to any stud-
from (18 years for women vs. 27 years for men). ies or outside work. The pressures of all of the responsibilities
Yes
On the other hand, when we looked at the 400 participants overwhelmed some.” 36%

in the separate survey of women conducted with IEEE, we Despite the relatively high average
No salaries in engineer-
found that they had much higher levels of education than the ing, fewer than a third (29%)64% of the women surveyed
average participant in our main survey. For example, 42% hold believe women engineers fare better than those in other
a master’s degree (compared to just 30% professions when it comes to achiev-
in our main survey)—while 23% have a ARE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING ing equal pay for equal work. About
doctorate (compared to 9% in our main AFFORDED THE SAME 47% say the opportunities are roughly
survey). OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAREER the same, while one in four say the
So rather than focus on issues related ADVANCEMENT IN ENGINEERING chances of receiving compensation
to compensation, we decided to use data POSITIONS AS MEN? on par with men is worse in the engi-
from both surveys to compare how men neering field than other professions.
and women engineers differ in their views “I think that at certain levels, an engi-
about the profession generally and their neer is an engineer, and the salary will
jobs specifically. We also asked women be the same between men and women,”
to open up about their experiences work-
ing in a male-dominated occupation, as
36% No
No
said one survey respondent. “How-
ever, I think that the opportunities for

64%
well as offer advice to young women who advancement for women are lower,
Yes
might consider entering the field. which then causes lower salaries.”
This was a common complaint among
DOES IT START IN SCHOOL? women: “I get the sense that women in
The minority status of women in engi- engineering are paid the same as men
neering becomes evident to them while in the same role, but that women tend
still in school. On average, women esti- to end up in roles that are paid less on
mate there were 13.5% fewer woman engi- average, like QA or tech support.”

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ENGINEERING

numbers
BY THE

“Women in general ask for less, so

INTERVIEW With Nita Patel

IEEE Women In Engineering Committee Chair
men are used to giving them less,”
opined another. “When in that early
discussion with recruiters, women usu-
nita.patel@ieee.org ally do not know what their male peers
receive as offers. I used to be shocked to
Why have so few women taken up engineering as discover that my male coworkers who
a career? weren’t as smart or productive as I was
I think there’s a component of awareness and stereo- made more. Now I’m used to it, and I
types involved. Awareness in that many people don’t see how they receive more mentoring
know what an engineer does or what it means to be an and guidance from their managers, who
engineer. There are stereotypes and misconceptions are almost all men.”
about engineering. Also, there are stereotypes about Some women cited work/home bal-
the capabilities required. I think there’s a stereotype ance issues as the reason for the dispar-
and bias that implies that girls are not capable of pursuing a STEM field. Yes, ity. “Many of the women that I have
STEM can be hard, but so are many other fields of study and women are suc- worked with have had children and,
cessful in them (e.g., doctors and lawyers). as a result, spend less time at work and
require more time off to take care of
In your view, what are some of the aspects of engineering that make it a par- their children,” said one respondent.
ticularly good career path for women? “I believe this affects their salary. At
I think it’s a great career choice because there is an incredible amount of flex- one company I worked for, a manager
ibility and many opportunities. An engineering/technical background provides even said to me that if he were hiring,
many opportunities in terms of type of industry (defense, medical, commercial, he would not select a women because
space...), type of career (full-time, part-time, independent, team-based...), and most of them require extra time off to
level of contribution (individual, team lead, executive...). The analytical and take care of children. This is a man who
logical skills that you learn through a STEM degree can be applied to many dif- had a stay-at-home wife and children.
ferent industries. Also, most engineering careers are project-based, so there is Unfortunately, even if a woman does not
great flexibility in the hours you can set. have children, she would be viewed the
same as women with children and have
What are the biggest challenges women in engineering face? less opportunity to move up.”
I think people are aware of and control overt biases. There are still some “At my previous job, I was making
subtle biases floating around. The perception that engineering is a man’s field is 20-25% less than my male counter-
still prevalent, so this can be discouraging and prolongs the bias. parts with the same title,” one engineer
related. “I performed better, accom-
Given some of these challenges, would you recommend engineering as a plished more, but was paid less—and
career path for women? was expected not to complain.”
Absolutely, I do not think the challenges are overwhelming. I think the career Despite these issues, about half of
is very rewarding. Women have a lot to contribute in this field. the women surveyed say they are either
extremely happy or very happy in their
What career advice do you have for women currently working in current positions—closely matching the
engineering? results for men. Digging deeper, 63%
Challenge yourself and ask for larger leadership roles. I think it’s impor- of female engineers say they feel suffi-
tant to get more women into higher-visibility management roles. I also think ciently challenged intellectually with the
women should keep learning. Technology is ever-changing, so we must work projects they work on, compared to just
to remain technically current and think about expanding our horizons by con- 56% of men.
tinually developing professional skills. But, despite that satisfaction, 42% of
women engineers say they’ve consid-
What advice do you have for women students who are considering the ered ditching the profession altogether
profession? to pursue something else, compared to
Go for it. You will find the technology exciting and the skills you learn will just over a third of the men we heard
help you throughout your life. n from. In fact, 15% of women say they’re
already looking for a new job, compared

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to only 9% of the men surveyed. HOW DO WOMEN IN ENGINEERING FARE VS.

One reason may be that most women (55%) don’t believe
they have the same opportunities for career advancement in
engineering positions as men. “Women tend to promote them-
selves less than men, even though they are just as capable,” not-
ed one women engineer. “In my experience, the engineers who
are the most vocal about their accomplishments are advanced
to higher levels than those who quietly do brilliant work.”
“It’s an unconscious bias,” claimed another survey partici-
pant. “Women do not brag about their achievements or come
forward with clear ambition for management positions. Plus,
many men don’t believe it’s possible to have both a family and
a management career.”
Another woman engineer put it this way: “There is a con-
stant assumption that women engineers must face on a daily
basis: that they’re not engineers (‘You’re the admin, right?’) or
that they’re not really engineers (‘You’re just the tester, right?’).
Their voices are not heard in meetings, they’re not acknowl-
edged in leadership reviews, and they’re discouraged from
working on projects that could advance their careers. These
micro-aggressions accumulate into reduced career outlook.”
“We are not recognized for what we do,” summarized anoth-
er. “Peers, supervisors, and managers get the credit. What we
do is forgotten or downplayed. Also, opportunities to be seen
are given to male engineers by male engineers first.”
The women we surveyed indicated that things get even
worse for them if they do get into management. Nearly two-
thirds (64%) of the female engineering managers we surveyed
say they aren’t afforded the same career advancement oppor-
tunities as men. “We are considered emotional and not able to
make the tough decisions that men do,” claimed one woman
in a management position. “Women are still seen as emotional
and needy, so they’re not considered for some critical posi-
tions at companies,” another agreed. “I’ve been told by man-
agement those exact words in previous jobs.”
WOMEN IN OTHER PROFESSIONS WHEN IT COMES
TO EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK?
Worse
About
24%
the
Better same
27%
49%
A smaller number of women described somewhat different
experiences. “I think women who treat themselves like people
rather than women advance the same as men,” said one survey
participant. “I’ve never seen myself as ‘the woman in the room,’
just ‘a person in the room,’ and I share my ideas and thoughts
accordingly—and I have accelerated quickly at my company.”
Ironically, however, this same survey participant also said
that her compensation was only in the “21st percentile,” while
the male engineers who come to her for guidance are in the
“90th percentile”—and was thus strongly inclined to leave her
job. “It’s very demoralizing, and it’s too bad for the company
that they haven’t fixed it.”
“Women in engineering have had to contend with men
from the start,” wrote another woman. “Be it in classrooms
or on the job. You learn to live in their world and it helps
when it comes to things like putting yourself out there for a
raise or promotion.”
Some are more philosophical: “As in anything with life, if

NEARLY 1 IN 4 WOMEN HAVE CONSIDERED LEAVING THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION TO SPEND MORE
TIME WITH FAMILY. OTHER REASONS ENGINEERS HAVE FOR LEAVING THE PROFESSION INCLUDE:

Try something
different
Women
Something
more fulfilling Men
or satisfying More
freedom/
42% free time Cut back
Burnout No further
To make Start a on long
33% business chance for The poor
more money hours
advancement Ready job outlook Switch to
29%
15% 25% to retire for engineers teaching
17%
17% 24%
10% 10% 15%

32% 27% 23% 22% 21% 20% 18% 17% 17% 14% 13%

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ENGINEERING

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BY THE

DESPITE RECENT HEALTHCARE REFORM, THE PERCENTAGE

for example, use social media more extensively for their work
OF ENGINEERS THAT RECEIVE HEALTHCARE BENEFITS than men. This gives some credence to the belief that women
FROM THEIR COMPANY CONTINUES TO DROP tend to be more collaborative than their male counterparts.
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION
57% 63% 61% 56% 54% Despite the challenges women engineers face, 93% still say they
would recommend engineering as a career path to young girls
you are a go-getter and want to advance in your career you and boys alike. “Engineering has been a satisfying and personally
will, but if you are timid and don’t afford yourself appropriate rewarding career for me,” said one. “I do believe that women often
connections you will not get the same opportunities.” have obstacles that men don’t as engineers, but if they are willing
One reason women have very different experiences is that to negotiate those obstacles, it can be a fulfilling career.”
their companies maintain very different policies when it comes “Engineering is an exciting field where you can make a dif-
to gender issues. “In my division at IBM, there are an unusually ference,” said another respondent. “There are opportunities
high percentage of managers and engineers who are women for both men and women, but I would caution women that
compared to other corporations with which I’ve interacted,” they need to be willing to work hard and be prepared to pro-
wrote one respondent. “IBM has made a concerted effort to mote their own accomplishments if they want to be noticed
advance women in technical roles. Also many of the women in and recognized for their skills.”
our organization are the best in the world in their fields.” “It is a good career, challenging, and pays well,” said another.
Some companies are making special efforts to address gen- “Women do well in engineering, but the glass ceiling is low.
der disparities, which may account for one interesting statistic This still is a field dominated by men, and it is difficult to fit in.”
from our research: 67% of them told us they’d been contacted Some respondents suggested that the bigger issue for young
by a headhunter or recruitment specialist within the past year, people was a general understanding of what the engineering
while only 54% of men could make that claim. profession was all about. “It’s something that I believe more
“I’ve always been lucky enough to encounter men who are people would enjoy if they had had exposure to it at an early age,”
more than thrilled at finding a woman engineer who can do as observed one engineer. “The U.S. education system does not pre-
good, if not better, a job than her male counterparts,” chimed pare high school students for careers. Exposure to engineering
in another. “These men typically afford women the same is minimal to nonexistent before college and that’s unfortunate.”
opportunities for advancement.” Some women suggested that they would only recommend
And, while it’s important not to make unfounded gen- engineering to young boys. “When I meet someone new and
eralizations about behavior and gender, it does appear that shake their hand, there is zero chance that their first comment
women do approach their jobs differently than men. Women, won’t be about my gender,” complained one women engineer.
“After ten years in the field, it is as sexist as when I first started.
WOMEN ENGINEERS ARE MORE ACTIVE USERS OF I’m tired of having to fight to be seen as an engineer. I wouldn’t
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS recommend this field to young women because I think they
LinkedIn can get further in other fields that don’t have the perception
obstacle. Why fight if you can go somewhere better?”
Others shared similar sentiments: “I believe the only women
who will continue in engineering with the current work envi-
ronment are those who desperately love the work itself,” one
female respondent opined. “Why deal with others minimizing
63% Women your accomplishments and with constant, blatant discrimina-
tion when you can work in a profession where women are more
Men welcome? Why go through difficult engineering courses and
social hostility to get paid what someone without an under-
Company’s
own social graduate education gets paid? Medicine has a large pay gap for
media site Facebook women, but women are more socially accepted. My friends that
switched to become doctors found it an easier thing, purely
because of social reasons. It isn’t supposed to be an easy career
27% 22% Twitter track, but compared to engineering it was easier for them. Life
is short and love of work is not always enough to override all of
15%
the pitfalls of being a woman in engineering. But I’m still in it
57% 13% 17% 6% because I love the work.”

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Young girls need extra reassurance and role models, accord-
ing to some women. “Young women need more encourage-
ment than men to go into a field that’s already dominated by
men,” said one respondent. “I’m happy to mentor the men who
have made that choice already, but young women need to see
that there’s a place for them here, too.”
Others homed in on what they saw as a special opportunity for
women. “There are not enough women in the field, and a social
stigma exists for girls to pursue math and science in school,” said
one engineer. “Girls are often not expected to do well in math
and science, and a lot of them seem to subsequently believe that
they should not even try. I think women should want to succeed
for themselves despite pushback or stereotypes.”
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These comments and others highlight the fact that, even in
2014, the engineering field still suffers from issues that have
plagued it for decades. Our research may even serve as a cau-
tionary note to men in the profession who are unaware of atti-
tudes and behaviors that unfairly undermine the ability of wom-
en to succeed in the field, despite their technical competence.
The study also shows the importance of groups like IEEE
Women In Engineering, which can shed light on gender
issues in the profession and take a position of advocacy for
women. Future studies may show some progress in a pro-
fession that—perhaps even more than most others—could
theoretically recognize and reward empirically evident tech-
nical abilities without any regard whatsoever for gender.